The article published in the newspaper and on Mail Online last August "included false and defamatory claims" about the First Lady "which questioned the nature of her work as a professional model, and republished allegations that she provided services beyond simply modelling", the court heard.

The piece referred to rumours that a modelling agency Mrs Trump worked for in Milan was "something of a gentleman's club" and another in New York "operated as an escort agency for wealthy clients".

Her lawyer John Kelly said the story included statements that Mrs Trump denied the allegations and that Paulo Zampolli, who ran the modelling agency, also denied the claims.

The article, he said, also said there was no evidence to support the allegations.

Image:The article about Mrs Trump was published last August

Mr Kelly told Mr Justice Nichol: "The article also claimed that Mr and Mrs Trump may have met three years before they actually met, and 'staged' their actual meeting as a 'ruse'."

He said the allegations about Mrs Trump were not true - and "strike at the heart of the claimant's personal integrity and dignity".

Catrin Evans QC, for the publishers, told the judge: "The defendant acknowledges that these claims about the claimant are untrue, and we retract and withdraw them.

"The defendant is here today publicly to set the record straight, and to apologise to the claimant for any distress and embarrassment that the articles may have caused her."